Mia carries the torch after Susi is dethroned

Wed, 31 Jul 1996 | Source: REUTERS

ATLANTA, Georgia (Agencies): Susi Susanti of Indonesia, the badminton gold medalist in Barcelona, crashed out of the Olympics yesterday losing to her old nemesis Bang Soo-hyun of South Korea in the semifinal 9-11, 8-11.

But Indonesia's miracle teenager Mia Audina picked up the torch for Indonesia as she cruised to the final by beating another South Korean, Kim Ji-hyun 11-6, 9-11, 11-1.

Susi, the number two seed, committed so many errors and never really settled in the match which was a replay of the Barcelona final. In contrast, Mia played an almost flawless match, and was always in command with the exception for the second set.

To the sound of a mournful trumpet refrain and gospel singing, Atlanta claimed back its Centennial Park early yesterday, three days after a bomb blast that bloodied the Olympics.

But even as the Games recovered and got back on track with a sparkling night of athletics, a new dope scandal cast yet another cloud over the ill-starred Atlanta Olympics.

Jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis greeted thousands of people for a brief but poignant opening ceremony at the park before Andrew Young, a former aide of Martin Luther King, led a stirring service for the two dead and 110 injured.

The emotional occasion followed a night of compelling track and field drama in which Carl Lewis claimed a special place in Olympic history and ensured the Atlanta Games would be remembered for more than the bomb and their bungles.

But another setback hit the ill-starred sports extravaganza even as the park reopened. Officials announced Russian swimmer Nina Zhivanevskaya had been disqualified after failing a dope test.

Zhivanevskaya, who finished eighth in the 200-meter backstroke final last week, tested positive for the stimulant-cum-masking agent bromantan. It was the fourth doping case reported at the Games and the third involving Russians.

Lewis leapt to a special place in Olympic history and fellow American Michael Johnson cruised to 400-meter gold on Monday as sports fans put a nightmare bomb blast behind them and enjoyed a vintage night of athletics.

Lewis, 35, soared 8.50 meters to clinch the long jump title and equal two monumental Olympic records -- winning a fourth consecutive title in the same athletics event and a ninth gold in any sport.

Johnson, running in gold shoes, set up a unique track double when he raced home unchallenged to win the one-lap race in an Olympic record time of 43.49 seconds. He is hot favorite to add the 200m gold on Thursday.

Lewis joins discus thrower Al Oerter, also from the United States, as the only track and field athlete to win gold at four successive Games.

He also matched Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi's record of nine Olympic golds.

On a golden night for the host nation, American Allen Johnson won the 110m hurdles in 12.95 seconds, also an Olympic record.

France's Marie-Jo Perec ran the third fastest women's 400m ever to retain her Olympic title. The Guadeloupe-born runner clocked 48.25 seconds, yet another Olympic record.

Russia's Svetlana Masterkova sprang a surprise when she claimed the 800 metres, relegating pre-face favorites Ana Fidelia Quirot of Cuba and Mozambique's Maria Mutola to second and third respectively.

On the tennis court, Yugoslav-born American Monica Seles saw her Olympic dream shattered as three of the top four seeds went out at the quarterfinal stage. Seles went down in three sets to Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic.